


Strangers' stories

by librarius



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Legends - All Media Types, Star Wars Legends: Thrawn Trilogy - Timothy Zahn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-04
Updated: 2019-06-04
Packaged: 2020-04-07 19:40:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 1,037
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19091761
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/librarius/pseuds/librarius
Summary: When does this fic take place:Starts before the actual events of the original Thrawn trilogy (Heir to the Empire / Dark Force Rising / The Last Command), but the Grand Admiral already has taken command over the Chimera and the campaign has started.Ends a while after the Battle at Bilbringi.Caution: Mentioned major character death.There is no answer to the implied question (What are the strangers' stories like?) nor is there a closure.





	1. Chapter 1

Delta source came up with something unusual: a song. The melody didn’t make the transfer, but the choice of words was clearly that of a song. The language was not basic, not at all. In fact, the language was one the grand admiral hadn’t heard in a long while. It could be coincidence. He knew it was not. The person singing the song had been to a show, he learned. An alien singer had given a few songs at open mic night. Songs in made up languages, as the attendant had called it. Songs “for the hard working”, “for the shady”, and “for all those involved in building a government”. The latter, the attendant had been singing. Saying that it had been stuck in his mind from the night before. Telling his friend where the singer would be for open mic next, as the alien made a habit out of picking a new location every other night. He convinced his friend into coming along next time. 

The grand admiral though about the incident. No, that was no coincidence, but a graciously laid out hint. Gaze into space, he remembered. There was one person he knew, years ago, that would have used their talents to call out just like this, sending a message from the heart of the rebellion. No … not a message. A call only. Hidden in a song that stuck in the mind so the audience would sing it to themselves the next day, not knowing that they were messengers. A rare kind of smile appeared on his face. It fit their style, indeed.

There was no way to contact them, though, at least not yet. He would keep an eye on the songs being sung by people working at the Imperial Palace, though.


	2. Chapter 2

It took time, and it was not priority alpha, but of course, Thrawn worked out a method of contacting the person. It had to be thoroughly coded, as invisible as their call to the grand admiral had been, and it was just that. Simple, actually. They were on Coruscant as a singer, moving from stage to stage, always coincidental, attendants only knowing of the next when and where by word-of-mouth recommendation. So word-of-mouth it would be.

Word of mouth had it, that singers were to be casted for a wedding off-world, the casting off-world as well.   
Contacts: Telling they’ve already found what they were looking for.   
Decoded contacts: Coordinates and a date.   
Those: A spaceport bar just outside the core worlds.   
Decoded coordinates: Literally nowhere, an empty space between the stars, and a date. All set up by a well-paid man believing he served said wedding.

At the exact right time, the singer’s ship arrived, only to find a battered freighter with all signs of a pirate’s attack, stripped of crew and goods, and left behind dead in space.   
They knew their codes. Deciphering the number, order, and placement of blasts that had hit the ship, they set course for their destination.


	3. Chapter 3

The passenger was taken aboard and received by Captain Pellaeon personally.  
This one time, Pellaeon noticed with surprise, Rukh didn’t play his games with the captain but just stood there visible, waiting for the passenger to cross through the dimly lit entry room. The Captain was supposed not to, and returned to the bridge. He wondered, who that person was to be taken in by such secrecy.

The door to the grand admiral’s private command room closed behind them, and in the dim lighting, the singer sported a slight smile. “Mitth’raw’nuruodo”, they said greetingly. “It’s been a while.”  
“How did you know”, he asked, coming towards them.  
“I presumed. I couldn’t think of anybody else sporting this style of command.” Their gaze lingered on his features. “I have missed your ingenuity”, they added. “Maybe I was merely hoping it was you. But it _is_.”  
“Indeed. And did you presume also, I’d learn about you?” His tone was even, but they didn’t miss the underlying danger. Out of nowhere, the menacing creature that had guarded the room was with them. They could sense it standing close by. A brush of air, and their trained sense of danger told them.  
“The pattern I chose was destined to come to your attention at some time”, they explained. “I just didn’t know when. The latest imperial successes hinted to information being gathered from the heart of the rebellion itself. So, a catchy tune in a supposedly fantasy language, dropped to the ears of enough people acquainted with the new government – it seemed reasonable enough.”


	4. Chapter 4

Before they left, for they hadn’t intended to stay for long anyways, they offered: “Do you wish me to sing your future?”  
He shook his head slightly. “What certainty is to what you see?”  
“The further away the less clear, but the hints were always right. Unlike Jedi visions.”  
He smirked to that comment. Of course, they suggested a Jedi being involved with him. They had been good at that always. And never in opposition; just interested.   
Their song was mysterious like it had always been. “A shadow nearby” being the only hint. He could not waste his time musing about shadows, though. Those were what Rukh was there for.


	5. Chapter 5

Years later, Captain Pellaeon met them again. The alien with the song and the strange connection to the late grand admiral.  
They came up to him with no sign of fear or even caution, ignoring his guard, relying on him ordering them to hold their weapons. He did. They greeted him, and with little words invited him to sit with them for a moment.  
“How did he die?” the alien murmured after a while.  
Pellaeon told them about Rukh’s attack in the middle of the Bilbringi battle.  
They nodded slowly, and with a hint of sadness and – admiration, asked: “What were his last words?”  
Of course, he remembered. _But it was so artistically done…_  
A smile slid over the alien’s features. “Sounds just like him”, they purred. Then they emptied their glass of hot water and got up. “It was nice to see you again, Captain”, they said, offering their hand in an awkward imitation of human customs. “Good luck.”  
He watched them leave in a stunned feeling. _Good luck._


End file.
